


The noise of cats' paws

by FrostFlower



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Brother/Brother Incest, Brotherly Love, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Kissing, Love, M/M, Not Beta Read, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:27:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24459697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrostFlower/pseuds/FrostFlower
Summary: Hvitserk loves all his brothers - nevertheless there has always been something special between him and Ubbe
Relationships: Hvitserk & Ubbe (Vikings), Hvitserk/Margrethe/Ubbe (Vikings), Hvitserk/Ubbe (Vikings)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	The noise of cats' paws

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> I hope you enjoy my little Oneshot about Ubbe and Hvitserk...this ship is way too underrated.  
> (and I'm drowning in feels for them)  
> English isn't my first language and I didn't have a beta-reader for this story but I tried my best at correcting it myself.  
> Please don't hesitate to tell me if something sounds weird. Any kind of feedback is much appreciated!  
> I tried to stay close to the canon-verse - have fun!  
> 

Times weren’t getting easier lately and many things were changing, especially here in Kattegat, in the Kingdom of Northumbria and in Frankia. Important decisions and plans had to be made and the slightest mistake could not only cost them their lives but also change the lives of whole generations yet to be born. Today they had every reason to celebrate though. Another Jarl had promised to join their great alliance and he would bring twelve ships and twenty times as many strong warriors and shield maidens with him. Also, they had proven their power in a victorious battle early in the morning – some other Jarl who has had his own ideas for a Viking alliance had tried to conspire against the sons of Ragnar. Maybe he was feasting too now - in Valhalla.

„…and then I turned around and saw this archer standing there, 20 feet away from me. He already had an arrow between his fingers and was about to draw his bow...“  
Hvitserk paused for a moment to take a sip of ale out of his horn cup, gesturing his listeners that he wasn’t done speaking yet. His voice had become slightly hoarse from all the talking and laughing at the feast they were having in Kattegat’s great hall right now. The later it got, the harder it became to hear your own voice over the chatter and shouting and the fighting drunkards. 

“It was as if he had appeared out of nowhere, the battle was as good as over - then I saw it was Ubbe he was aiming at. All of this happened so fast! I swear, everything took only two seconds but it felt so much longer. I knew I would never make it to him in time and Ubbe couldn’t have seen him since he was busy ramming his knife into the body of his attacker.”  
He patted his brothers shoulder who was sitting right next to him on the bench, also drinking and trying not to miss the interesting parts of everything going on around him.  
“But he hadn’t noticed me, focused as he was! And before I could even think of it I saw my axe flying straight at him and BAM!”  
Hvitserk slammed his cup onto the table with a loud thud and ale was spilling all over the place. He continued with the story, grinning widely now, “It cut right through the string of his bow and his fingers before it got stuck in his neck!”  
He almost shouted the last words and the men and women around him roared with laughter and cheers for him. He wasn’t one who’d brag about his battles all the time but this had felt like a story worth telling.  
“I can still see it clearly before me, how his arrow slowly falls to the ground instead of flying through the air and the archer…following him. Odin was truly with us today! I could _feel_ his presence in this moment!”  
“Yeaaah, Odin!”  
“Oooodin!”  
“Hail Odin!”  
Approving shouts became louder and louder around him and it was Ubbe who finally raised his horn and shouted “Hail Odin! Skol!”  
“Skol!”  
Hvitserk drank up the rest of his ale when Ubbe put his arm around his shoulder, drawing him closer. “Now that’s my brother!”, he began cheerfully, also sounding a bit drunk, “became such a good fighter!”  
The next thing he felt was Ubbe’s scratching beard against his face and a grateful kiss placed on his cheek. They both smiled at each other and Hvitserk took Ubbe’s drinking horn out of his hands since he had emptied his own seconds ago.  
“I’m glad I was standing there”, he told him, feeling light-headed when he turned his head so he could also give him a kiss on his cheek. Ubbe hadn’t expected this though, at least he had a bad timing for turning his own head towards Hvitserk and it was their lips that met, more or less.  
It took the younger Ragnarsson a second to realize what was happening and that two or three people might be watching them too. Ubbe’s bright blue eyes were staring right at him, his expression impossible to read. Hvitserk drew back quickly and burst into laughter - “what are you doing?” - before wiping over his lips with the back of his hand as if he had tasted something awful.  
It made the people across the table laugh too but it wasn’t before Ubbe joined in that Hvitserk felt his body relaxing again.  
“I’m glad you’re aiming better with your axe than with your lips, brother”, he said, shaking his head and making the people at their table roar even louder. Hvitserk felt his body temperature rise and he punched his brother’s arm.  
“Just shut up or next time I’ll just be standing there, watching!”

Maybe it was the alcohol or the battle or both but he couldn’t stop grinning. He also realized that he didn’t really mind this accidental kiss. Was he supposed to?  
Whatever, it didn’t matter. They had always been very close, physical as well as in mind. If Ubbe didn’t care, there was no reason for him to do so.  
Hvitserk looked up when he got the strange feeling that someone was staring at him with a cold glance. His eyes met Ivar’s who was sitting near the end of the table. He had almost forgotten that he was also here. Ivar had been engaged into another conversation before, but now he was looking right at him, as if something was bothering him.  
For a second he wanted to ask him what his problem was, feeling provoked by his stare, but he was in a way too good mood to really care about it and just turned away again. Ivar had this special talent of ruining a good time and he wouldn’t play right into his hands.  
His attention was drawn elsewhere anyways when Margrethe sat down next to him and leant into him, smiling mischievously.  
“I’ve really enjoyed the feast but I fear I am getting tired slowly…maybe it would be better if I went to bed now.”  
She left the table as quickly as she had come and Hvitserk’s gaze wandered from her to the empty cups and plates before him. There was no need to think twice about her words and what to do next.

He swung his legs over the bench and turned to Ubbe, lowering his voice slightly and smirking at him.  
“I guess I’m needed elsewhere now…maybe you too shouldn’t stay up so much longer…”  
Ubbe didn’t answer but he knew he’d understand him and that he would follow soon.  
He surely didn’t mind having Margrethe to himself now and then but he also wouldn’t want his brother to miss all the fun – not only because she was _his_ wife, officially.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Everything was cold around him. Inside him. Freezing cold, as if the blood in his veins had turned into ice water, creeping up its way through his limbs, into his lungs, his heart...  
He tried to breathe but he couldn’t. Darkness surrounded him and he knew he needed to move but he couldn’t. The coldness had paralyzed his body and his skin was burning at the same time…then he was falling, floating - he couldn’t tell anymore.  
Hvitserk panicked. He needed to get out! He didn’t want to die, he shouldn’t even be here, so he gathered all his strength and tried to move, until-“

“Hah!”  
He sat upright in the bed, eyes wide open, shaking and breathing heavily. It took Hvitserk a while to figure out where he was – why was it still so dark?  
“Hvitserk? What’s wrong?”  
Ubbe? This was Ubbe’s voice whispering to him, wasn’t it?  
“Hvitserk?”  
He finally came to himself when the mattress sank down a bit right next to him. Ubbe had gotten out of the bed and walked around it so he could be closer to Hvitserk. He put a hand on his shoulder and his eyes were seeking Hvitserk’s, giving him a worried look.  
It was good to feel his warm hand and Hvitserk realized how tense his whole body still was.  
“It’s…nothing. I just had a dream. Didn’t want to wake you”, he whispered.  
“Don’t worry, I have already been awake. What was it you dreamed about?”  
Hvitserk just looked at his brother for a moment, not sure if he wanted to talk about it and make a big deal out of it. He tried to convince himself that it was just a bad dream but he still felt so cold.  
His eyes searched for Margrethe in the faint moonlight but she seemed to be still asleep, breathing evenly next to him. She’s always had a sound sleep which had made him creative with finding ways to wake her but now he brought his attention back to Ubbe.

“I dreamed about the lake.”  
Ubbe sighed knowingly and gave his shoulder a squeeze.  
“Move a bit.”  
Hvitserk did as he was told and lay down again, closer to Margrethe so Ubbe could crawl under the furs right next to him. He wasn’t sure if they would fit into the bed like that all together but they managed somehow.

“Do you often dream about that day?”  
“No. I haven’t even thought about it for a long time. I wonder why I have dreamed about it now…what do you think is the meaning of this?”  
“I’m not sure…”, Ubbe whispered, still careful not to wake Margrethe.  
This was something between only them.  
“Maybe there is no meaning and it was nothing more than a bad dream? After all it is a memory that we’ll never forget…but such a thing won’t ever happen again. We survived it.”  
“That’s true…”  
His breathing had calmed down and Hvitserk felt the warmth returning slowly to his body. He could feel Margrethe’s warm skin against his own and even if there was still a small space between him and his older brother, Ubbe’s body was radiating heat too.  
He could almost drift back into sleep like that, feeling so safe and whole but his thoughts kept him awake.

“I’ve never quite understood why we went on the ice. When I try to remember I just can’t, there is nothing and the next moment…“  
“…I hear a cracking sound, the thin surface is breaking and we’re falling.”  
“Yes.”  
Ubbe hesitates for a moment and then puts an arm around Hvitserk, stroking his upper arm. Feeling the hard muscles beneath his hand makes him realize how much time has passed since then when they were just small boys, not understanding half of the things that were going on around them.  
“I think we will never know for sure. Some evil spirits had possessed us and lead us there…”  
“Harbard”, Hvitserk scoffs.  
“At least I’m sure we won’t see him again.”  
Hvitserk doesn’t know when he had put his hand on Ubbe’s arm, but it calms him to feel his presence, so strong and alive right next to him. His fingers are tracing the lines of his tattoos that he can make out in the moonlit room.  
“You caught a really bad cold back then and you had a high fever. I remember how afraid I was that you might die.”  
Hvitserk turned his head on the pillow so he could look Ubbe into the eyes.  
“I don’t remember any of this.”  
“No wonder…I think your fever was too bad, you were barely conscious. But after the third night it was gone and the next day you already ate enough for two men.”  
Hvitserk laughed because that sounded like him.  
So, his brother had once feared he’d lose him…that is what Hvitserk had experienced earlier that day too but only for a second. He wouldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t imagine a life without Ubbe by his side even if he wanted to. Sure, he loved all his brothers, Sigurd and Ivar and Bjorn too, but the bond between him and Ubbe had always been different somehow. Stronger. Special. Unique.  
Somewhere deep inside he knew that it wasn’t quite common how they were lying here together under the furs, naked, next to the woman they both loved and shared without ever getting jealous.  
For some reason the kiss came back to his mind right now.  
Well, it wasn’t even a real kiss, did something like that even count?  
He wondered what Ubbe thought about it. Had he even wasted a second thought about it?  
Was it weird to ask him about it? Maybe he shouldn’t have reacted as if he’d been disgusted by it earlier…but what else should he have done in this situation?

“What else is there on your mind, brother?” Ubbe asked.  
“Nothing…nothing important”  
“You know you can’t lie to me”, Ubbe stated but he didn’t sound reproachful.  
Hvitserk knew. It had been worth a try though.  
His eyes met Ubbe’s again after staring into nowhere.  
“What was it that kept you from sleeping?”  
Ubbe didn’t respond immediately.  
“Nothing important. Just thinking about some stuff.”  
“You’re also lying now.”  
Hvitserk wasn’t even sure what he wanted to hear from him. Since when gave Ubbe such vague answers? Unless…  
His heart began hammering in his chest. He’d always been the curious type and he wanted to know, needed to know…  
Hvitserk heard himself speaking before he knew what he was doing.  
“Just admit it, you can’t stop thinking about how much you’d like to kiss me again.”  
Ubbe’s eyes widened, staring at him in disbelief.  
Shit. Why had he said this?  
He should add that he was just teasing him and he should do that before the silence would become too awkward.  
Ubbe snorted slightly before speaking in an amused tone.  
“Because of _that_ kiss? You acted like a little girl who just got kissed for the first time in her life.”  
“You…”  
Hvitserk was searching for a way to counter but something in Ubbe’s eyes stopped him. Even in the dark he could make out their beautiful, blue color. He knew this gaze…daring. Expecting.  
Hvitserk realized that he was gripping Ubbe’s arm tightly and loosened his fingers quickly. He barely dared to breathe.  
A shiver went down his spine when Ubbe’s hand grabbed him behind his neck and then he leaned forward.  
Again, the first thing he felt was the unfamiliar scratching of his beard against his skin. But his lips…his lips were so soft and hot and immediately parted when Hvitserk pushed his tongue between them.  
“Mhhh.”  
Hvitserk gasped when Ubbe’s tongue began playing with his own, pushing it back before welcoming it in his mouth again. He tasted a bit like the ale they had been drinking before but mostly like… _Ubbe_.  
By all the gods…he wished they had done this sooner.  
Hvitserk bit down hard on Ubbe’s lower lip, causing him to moan. He’d heard his brother make this noise many times by now, but knowing that _he_ was the reason for it was a whole new experience and their kiss grew even more heated - until another soft moan could be heard.  
Hvitserk and Ubbe froze and they parted immediately, afraid that they had woken Margrethe after all. They had almost forgotten that she was still here, too caught up in the moment, but she had only made a sleeping sound.  
Hvitserk could barely believe what just had happened. He’d never been kissed in such a rough and dominant way but damn, it had turned him on and he felt like his insides were burning hotter than all the fires in Muspelheim.  
The young Vikings faced each other again as soon as they had reassured themselves that Margrethe was still asleep.  
For the first time in his life Hvitserk was at a loss for words. They had crossed a border with no way back but at the same time it felt as if their paths had led them to this inevitable point for a long time. They just hadn’t realized it sooner.  
He brought his hand to Ubbe’s face and let his fingers run through his beard, down his neck and caressed the soft skin before running his thumb over these beautiful, full lips. He wanted to taste him again, touch him, feel him…  
“I want you, Hvitserk”, Ubbe whispered, his voice lower than usual, just like it always sounded when he was aroused.  
Did his brother have the slightest idea of what he was doing to him by saying such a thing?  
“I want you, too.”  
_Now._ But still…  
“But what about Margrethe? We can’t…”  
Ubbe went quiet for a moment and seemed to think about something, clearly hating the thought of stopping now as much as he did.  
Ubbe then leant into him again, his lips so close to Hvitserk’s ear that he could feel every movement of them while he spoke, making him shiver under his hot breath.  
“How…quiet…do you think you can be, Hvitserk?”  
Hvitserk only smirked.

As quiet as _the noise of cats’ paws_ , if he had to.


End file.
